Indiana Pacers forward Paul George looks to pass against Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson,left, and forward James Johnson during the fourth quarter of a Heat win at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Wednesday, December 13, 2016. David Santiagodsantiago@elnuevoherald.com

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George looks to pass against Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson,left, and forward James Johnson during the fourth quarter of a Heat win at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Wednesday, December 13, 2016. David Santiagodsantiago@elnuevoherald.com

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, George, a 27-year-old four-time All-Star, was traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night for guard Victor Oladipo and forward Domantas Sabonis.

Now that George, who has one year left on his contract, is on his way to join league MVP Russell Westbrook, the Miami Heat could have a better argument than Boston to convince Hayward to tie his future to South Florida when he begins meeting with teams shortly after the start of free agency at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Hayward, who averged 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot nearly 40 percent from three-point range in earning his first All-Star selection last season with the Utah Jazz, will meet with the Heat in Miami on Saturday.

MONEY

Although Utah, who will get the last meeting with Hayward on Monday, can offer him a five-year max contract ($172.4 million) and Boston and Miami can only offer him four-year max contracts ($127.8 million), there isn’t an overwhelming financial advantage for Hayward to sign with the Jazz. As a seven-year veteran, Hayward would be better off signing a contract that would allow him to opt out after the 2019-20 season (three seasons) so he can take advantage of his 10 years of NBA service and seek more money with a new contract.

With this year’s salary cap set at $99 million, players with 10-plus years of service are eligibile to sign five-year max contracts at $201.2 million. Hayward could essentially structure his contract to take advtange of a similar deal after three seasons whether he’s in Boston, Utah or Miami.

Also a factor in the Heat’s favor: Hayward would be subject to state income tax in Utah and Massachusetts and not Florida.

The Jazz have roughly $15 million in potential cap space, but can go over the cap to re-sign Hayward since they own his early bird rights. Outside of that, Rubio appears to be the biggest addition to the roster Utah will be able to make.

Boston, the Eastern Conference runner-up last season, has close to $29 million in available cap space, but other assets (plenty of first round picks) it can trade to potentially bolster the roster around Hayward. The problem is George was their primary target and now Clippers All-Star power forward Blake Griffin is also off the board.

As for the Heat’s roster, Miami will have roughly $35 million in available cap space – just enough to sign one player to a max contract this summer once Chris Bosh is released.

If Riley is able to sway Hayward to the Heat, his first-year max salary of $29.7 million would leave Miami with less than $6 million in cap space. Riley would then likely try to create additional cap space through trades or other maneuvers to try and re-sign forward James Johnson or guard Dion Waiters.

WEAKENED EAST

Another factor for Hayward to weigh that hurts Utah: the Western Conference continues to add talent while the Eastern Conference loses it.

George’s trade Friday weakened another team that finished ahead of Miami in the East last season and beefed up a team that finished just behind the Jazz in the Western Conference standings.

The Chicago Bulls, who finished just ahead of the Heat for the eighth seed due to a head-to-head tiebreaker, traded All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler to Minnesota last week on draft night. Most are now penciling the T’Wolves in as a playoff team next season out West.

Atlanta All-Star power forward Paul Millsap could be the next player to switch conferences. According to reports, the frontrunners to sign Millsap are Denver and Minnesota. Sacramento and Phoenix. The Hawks, who finished fifth in the East last season, already traded away center Dwight Howard to Charlotte.